Stadium Review -
The Batman ReturnsNashville,
Tennessee is one of the more exciting locales in the country to plan
an eventful NFL weekend getaway. With a thriving nightlife
centered around live music, exceptional cuisine, and that unique
brand of southern hospitality, guests to the Music City have a
plethora of entertainment options at their disposal over the course
of any given weekend. Add to that the fact that the home
franchise, the vaunted Tennessee Titans, is becoming a
dangerous player in the quest for the AFC title crown each year, and you have a recipe for an unforgettable
weekend retreat including some great NFL football.

My visit to Nashville began with a ten hour road trip from Detroit,
Michigan departing at 5:00am on Saturday morning. Loading up
the Quest Machine with my patented Quest for 31 essentials
(the Quest flag, some beer, my Buffalo Bills Gnome), I was excited
by the prospect of great southern cooking and some of the best live
country and blues music you'll find anywhere. Arriving
just in time for an early supper, we headed directly to the downtown
area to BB King's Blues Club and Restaurant, for some great eats and
exceptional live blues music. Nashville is just one of those
towns that’s most conducive to bar hopping by design. The downtown
area is filled with legendary country music bars and exceptional
bistros, breweries, and restaurants. Visitors will find that
their best plan of attack is to pop in on each, one at a time, until
you find something you like. I've actually spent several
nights hopping from bar to bar, grabbing a drink in each one, while
listening to some high quality bands playing a variety of of music
from rock to country to blues. The folks are friendly, the
beer always goes down great, and the evening always ends on a
positive note with a full belly and a buzz. The truly nice
thing about most hotels in the area is that they generally offer a
free shuttle ride to the downtown area for hotel guests who want to
explore the bar district. Furthermore, if you happen miss the
last shuttle of the night, a cab ride back to your hotel will run
you less than $10.00. So there's really no reason, to
go through the hassle of driving downtown to find parking.
It's much more convenient just to get a ride.

Closing
in on the end of my thirty-one stadium journey, the season seemed
incomplete without a return visit to the best tailgate in the
National Football League, hosted by
TennesseeTitansTailgaters.com.
Under the watchful eye of Wayne Vandevort, the Bruce Wayne of
Tailgating (see my previous review), and Lady Titan, his
partner in crime, the tailgating scene in and around Titan Country
has been irrevocably impacted by their game day efforts. Hauling in
a custom trailer outfitted with deep fryers, barbecue grills,
stainless steel preparatory surfaces, and a well placed beer tap,
these folks fix a game day meal that's second to none and much more
extravagant than this humble Questor deserves. Wayne’s tailgate
preparations actually begin on Friday evening, starting with a trip
to the nearest grocer to fill a gameday menu that typically
feeds over a hundred people. Throughout the day on Saturday, Wayne and his
crew are holed up in the Bat Cave, an unassuming looking iso-container
outfitted like the kitchen of a master
chef.
With power, water, and enough stainless steel implements to cook for
an army, these folks toil into the night preparing an impressive
feast in advance minimizing any required gameday cooking.
At the end of the night, the team retires
until Sunday morning when they reconvene to outfit their Batmobile
with tailgate gear and the day’s meal. Arriving at the lot,
popup tents are erected, the deep fryer fires up, and the rolling
cart food service bins are wheeled into place.
When preparations are complete, this tailgate party looks more like
a parking lot wedding reception than a blacktop barbecue. With
its buffet line, multi-course menu, and high quality array of your
liquid refreshment of choice, guests are truly treated to a menu of
extravagance, featuring southern delicacies, grilled meats, and
several deserts.

Ingesting my fair share of fixins and taking some time to discuss
the state of the local NFL franchise with some of my most favorite
Tennessee Titans fans, I was surprised at how quickly game time was
upon us. I should mention that Wayne saved the day by
providing some exceptional seats at LP Field for me and my group.
The tickets I happened to be holding were actually for the Tennessee Titans home game
two weeks prior ... against the Arizona Cardinals. I'm still not exactly
quite sure how I confused the weekends, but that streak of terror
that shot through me when I saw an Arizona Cardinals helmet on the
ticket instead of a St. Louis Rams helmet is something I
won't soon forget. Heading over to the stadium, we made our way down
to our seats in section 126, row J, seat 3 for an exceptional view
of the field.

Many may not know this, but I consider myself somewhat of a fantasy
football authority, putting out a draft guide cheat sheet that I
feel is second to none. Going into the season I really liked Chris
Johnson. His rare combination of speed, athleticism and
exceptional vision, caused me to rank him extremely high on my cheat
sheet and he's currently leading several of my teams into the
playoffs. Johnson appears to lull opposing defenses into a false
sense of security as he patiently waits for blocking schemes to
develop in front of him, finding the slightest of creases.
Once the hole opens up, he unleashes a blazing speed that's capable
of gobbling up yards at an alarming rate. Chris Johnson unleashed a
fury on the St. Louis Rams defense on his way to 117 yards on the
ground and 69 yards through the air with three trips to the endzone
to lead the Tennessee Titans to an overwhelming victory by a margin
of 47 -7. After traveling throughout the year to stadiums across the
country and constantly watching the home team lose (Denver, Detroit,
Buffalo, Houston, New York), I gotta say it was rather refreshing to
be on the side of a good 'ol fashioned butt-whoopin'. I'm
grateful to the Tennessee Titans for that, it was a welcome change
to see a competent home team take the field.

Thanks also to the fine folks at
TennesseeTitansTailgaters.com for
their gracious hospitality and overwhelming support as I move
forward to complete my journey to thirty-one stadiums across this
great
nation of ours.

City of
Nashville Local Information

Top Tourist Attractions:
Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
Grand Ole Opry House
The Parthenon, Statue of Athena
Shelby Street Pedestrian Bridge

Getting to the Stadium:
LP Field is located on the edge of the downtown bar district. Lots
of fans will hit the bar area before the game and then walk across the
pedestrian bridge at game time, or tailgate in the many lots surrounding
the stadium. There is no rail line that takes you to the stadium,
you're best bet will be to drive there.

Where To
Stay: Downtown
Nashville is where its at with a thriving nightlife as the home of country
music hosts live bands and great food well into the wee hours of the
night. Plan on staying downtown or near the downtown area.
The Hilton Nashville downtown and Sheraton Nashville Downtown are
excellent options.

Planning Your Next Trip to see the
Tennessee Titans at LP Field?Traveling
to all thirty-one stadiums around the National Football League, teaches
you a thing or two about getting the most for your money. I've set
up this website to help others that are interested in NFL Travel.
Below you'll find links for cheap Tennessee Titans tickets, stadium seating
charts, and local weather for everything you
need to plan a successful trip to LP Field.

Compare Prices for
Tennessee Titans
Football Tickets Here:Click on the following links for
Tennessee Titans
ticket availability at each of the top online ticket
brokers on the web. Try each link to find the cheapest NFL ticket
prices:

COMMENTS?Please feel free to
post any suggestions or comments you might have for my journey to
LP Field, including the following: - Local Hotspots (Bar
Districts, Restaurants, Clubs)
- Local Foods (Traditional Cuisine, Micro Brews)
- Tailgating Traditions
- Your Experiences or Helpful Hints
- If you saw me let me know!
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Cordell Carter from Macon, Georgia

My name is Cordell Carter
and I am a firefighter and a personal trainer. I am originally from
Gallatin, Tn. I came down for the Eagles game Sunday! The Stadium was
beautiful and nice as hell. It has motivated me to get everything
together that I can travel again. I want to come down for the Colts
game. I love the site it really captures the spirit of the team.